Have you made your first swatch from Episode 6 yet ? Great ! Take it in front of you and let’s explore all the differences we can find between
– dc in both loops
– dc in between stitches
– linked dc
– extended dc
(all worked in rows at this stage)

Btw, make sure you share your pics of finished samples : a winner of 4 Tulip Etimo Rose crochet hooks + 2 Prym Soft hooks will be randomly chosen among all those published in the Facebook collective album « DC project » (send photos through FB or by email to « the first 4 letters of my firt name A.T. sylviedamey.com )

1/ TEXTURE & VISUAL APPEARANCE:
The most obvious difference is in the texture and visual look.

dc in both loops => flat surface, stitches look neatly stacked on top of each other

in between stitches => very textured look, reminiscent of weaving, with alternating rows of stitches going over / under… Because you work in between stitches, the gap located between each stitch is approx. the same width as the post of a dc. The fabric is surprisingly soft and airy, moving easily despite the thickness of the fabric.

Linked dc => what you’ll notice first about this stitch is how there is hardly any gap at all between the stitches. In fact, it’s hard to tell apart one stitch from the other.. or even one row from the other ! The resulting fabric is quite flat with rather discreet horizontal lines across. But it’s very dense and thick!

Elongated dc => it’s quite surprising to notice how close visually this stitch is from dc in both loops.
The only difference I can see is really that the elongated dc is… longer ! Thus the name ;-) But when touching it, the fabric also looks thinner and more drapy. As if the added chain stitch relaxed the fabric and added drape to it. When looking through a window, you can also see that the gap between stitches are much smaller than with dc in both loops. All in all, all this goes to show that this stitch does have its very own properties and is probably worth trying on a larger scale !

2/ SIZE

Let’s take measurements of each section of your swatch. Here’s what I found on mine, measuring over 15 sts and 4 rows :
(reminder: I used the same size of hook to crochet each stitch variation!!)

It’s quite fascinating to observe how dc in between stitches and linked dc are nearly exactly similar to dc in both loops when it comes to measurements. Not to worry about gauge issues if you substitute one for another in that case…
However, and just as we thought, Extended dc is a lot taller than the other dc variants of this episode. If you have crocheted a sample, you’ll also be able to see by yourself how its thinner fabric looks promising in terms of drape. Makes me want to try it on a larger scale…

3/ STRETCH & DRAPE

Now, those parameters are more difficult to assess on such a small swatch. But here’s what I learnt from experience. You can also stretch your swatch in all directions to notice the differences:

dc in both loops => solid fabric. sturdy. does not stretch much vertically.

Now, with all these parameters in mind, let’s try and see which types of project use each variation of the dc :

dc in both loops => see conclusions of episode 2

In between stitches = > I was really surprised by this stitch variant, in a good way. I love its texture, and depending on the size of hook you’d use, it could make really pretty and functionnal baskets or produce bag, or even an airy textured summer tank top…

Linked dc => seeing how there is hardly any gap in between stitches, this variant of the double crochet could make perfect handbags or coin-purses: no more lost coins or little things through the stitches of a purse !

Extended dc => I really like the texture and thinness of this stitch, and would love to see the result when used in a garment. Maybe even try to work an extended dc in the front loop only ? Who will try this first ?

5/ WORKING IN THE ROUND
Working in the round changes the visual aspect of all 3 of those stitch variations. I’ll explore this in a further episode…